Riverhouse is a single-family home designed by Zerafa Studio llc in Niagara Falls, Ontario.The main feature of the site is the long unobstructed river views across the full 164 foot width of the property. The 4,700 square foot of interior living space and 1,200 square foot of covered terrace were crafted to embrace this feature and find a balance between the relative transparency encouraged by the views and the privacy concerns of the owners.

This modern house is comprised of three distinct horizontal volumes, each with a specific material quality. The building’s north south massing is defined by 2 overlaid rectangular shells within which the glass, cedar and granite clad volumes for the interior living spaces are placed and a series of remaining voids create covered exterior spaces. The shell exteriors are clad in silver metal panel and are mostly opaque to provide privacy from adjacent properties to the north and south. The long open east and west ends of the shells reveal the River and garden views through expansive glazed walls. The exposed return surfaces of the shells are lined with western red cedar to provide a calm transitional space between the interior and exterior. The cedar deck surface within this space, an extension of the interior floor wraps up onto the wall in the form of T&G siding and returns onto the soffit to define a large exterior wood -clad room open to the surrounding landscape and views. Within this room, the river, house interior and surrounding landscape come together to tell the story of this site.

The ground floor shell projects out to provide a 5 ft overhang and floats 3 ft above the ground elevation to accommodate the long horizontal views to the River across the primarily flat site and give the building a delicate footprint in the landscape. The upper level shell is offset from the one below to create an exposed roof terrace to the north and a dramatic 17 ft cantilever to the south. The large cantilevered volume creates a covered entry to the garage area. The third volume clad in charcoal quartzite is a single story shell that slips under to support the cantilever and extends west into the rear garden.

The ground floor is comprised of two primary program groups separated by an east west glazed circulation space that bisects the house and extends the river views through to the rear garden. The service and ancillary spaces, garage, storage, guest suite and access to the basement level are contained within a single-story bar that runs east to west to minimize the obstruction of views. The primary living spaces are distributed in a linear bar across the width of the site to maximize exposure to river views.

The home office, kitchen/dining room and double height living room extend the full width of the north south bar to mediate the front and rear gardens and establish a strong visual connection to the outdoors.

The more private spaces including an expansive master suite, two additional bedrooms with en-suite bath and laundry facilities are distributed in a parallel bar on the second floor accessible by a dramatic sculptural stair. The master suite extends the length of the River view facade bridging across the circulation space below and extending out to a large covered terrace.

The kitchen by Bulthaup Toronto features a combination of grey aluminum and kaolin laminate faced cabinetry with the integrated “multi-function” glass wall system. The kitchen counters are engineered quartz and stainless steel with integrated sinks and wet areas along with an 8 foot long island unit with a walnut veneer slab breakfast bar.

The double-height living room features a custom designed “museum” stair, engineered and fabricated locally of steel-reinforced maple and has a furniture-grade walnut finish and structural glass railing.

Photos: Tom Arban